"Israel has never annexed the West Bank" – group argues ***

“Israel has never annexed the West Bank and Israeli law does not consider the West Bank to be part of Israel. For an example of how Israeli law views the West Bank, a 2004 Israeli High Court of Justice ruling on the legality of land seizures related to the construction of Israel’s separation barrier opened by stating as a given that ‘Since 1967, Israel has been holding the areas of Judea and Samaria…in belligerent occupation’ … As a corollary, Israeli law recognizes that all Israeli planning or construction in the West Bank has particular political, security and international significance. Given this significance, Israeli planning and construction in the West Bank is not treated as just a technical or bureaucratic matter. Rather, it requires the direct involvement of the political echelons of the Israeli government – primarily the Minister of Defense and sometimes the entire cabinet – which must sign off on every stage of a project’s progression. The government thus has the power to stop signing off on new plans at various stages in the process, as well as to prevent implementation of plans that have already been approved” — from .A publication of Americans for Peace Now, entitled “How to Freeze Settlements: A Layman’s Guide” (Vol. 5, Issue 2), posted here.